I. Field of the Invention
A foot operated locking brake mechanisms for preventing the rotation of a caster wheel.
II. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR Secs. 1.97 & 1.98
Casters are frequently provided on carts, hoppers, racks, and other similar structures which are subject to frequent moving, but are too heavy to carry. However, once placed in a desired position, further movement of the structure which might be caused by a pushing or pulling force applied to it, or by gravitational force should the structure be located on a non-level surface, is not desirable. In such cases it is desirable to lock the wheels of the casters to prevent their rotation, thereby preventing undesirable movement of the structure.
Foot operated brake mechanisms, which may be locked in the braking position to prevent rotation of caster wheels have been provided in the past. U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,085 granted the Anthony C. Libhart, and assigned to The Colson Company, a predecessor of the assignee of this application, reveals such a foot operated locking brake mechanism. The foot operated locking brake mechanism set forth in the Libhart patent was an improvement over the positive locking caster wheel brakes disclosed in earlier U.S. Pat. No. 2,262,433 to Uecker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,484,094 to Jackson and U.S. Pat. No. 2,709,828 to Noelting et al.